Warning: SPOILERS for the Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds episode “Misplaced in Translation” are forward!
Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds Season 1’s penultimate episode, “All These Who Wander,” confirmed Bruce Horak’s Hemmer, the Enterprise’s chief engineer, sacrificing himself on Valeo Beta V in order that Gorn eggs his physique had been contaminated with would by no means hatch. His loss of life hit Celia Rose Gooding’s Nyota Uhura arduous, as throughout their brief time collectively, Hemmer had turn out to be a mentor to her. Nicely, Season 2 delivered a reunion between Uhura and Hemmer that was intense and admittedly horrifying for many of “Misplaced in Translation,” however in actual life, Gooding instructed CinemaBlend that attending to share extra display screen time with Horak “felt like homecoming.”
The newest Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds episode noticed Uhura experiencing horrific visions whereas she, the remainder of the Enterprise crew and fellow Federation ship Farragut had been visiting a nebula to arrange an outpost that mines deuterium, a.ok.a. starship gas. A zombified and aggressive Hemmer was among the many issues solely Uhura might see throughout this journey, however even earlier than that, the late Starfleet officer had been on her thoughts as a result of she’d watched a video he’d recorded to show her the right way to recalibrate the Enterprise’s communication array. Throughout my interview with Gooding previous to “Misplaced in Translation” airing, and forward of the SAG-AFTRA strike, I requested what it was like for her attending to reunite with Horak on this unorthodox manner, they usually answered:
It was so beautiful. Bruce Horak, I’m such a fan of. Once we had been taking pictures Season 1, that was my first main TV expertise, and lots of the work that I did simply occurred to be with Bruce. So he actually grew to become a mentor for me, an actual shepherd for me, someone I might look to in occasions of uncertainty and know that I’ve someone supporting me in any determination I make. So to reunite with him was so beautiful. I really feel very at dwelling working with Bruce simply because that’s the one that instilled my character with lots of the arrogance that they now have. So to reunite with him, even on this extremely unorthodox and intense and scary manner… the character, it was actually petrifying, however as an actor, it felt like homecoming. It was great. I missed him very a lot.
Whereas it’s good to listen to that Celia Rose Gooding and Bruce Horak performing reverse each other once more was a pleasant expertise, Uhura witnessing Hemmer’s corpse amidst all these different unsettling sights was removed from pleasing. Thankfully, thanks to assist from Paul Wesley’s James T. Kirk, who made his first look on this collection’ foremost timeline because the Farragut’s First Officer, she found out that she wasn’t shedding her thoughts. As a substitute, this was the work of additional dimensional lifeforms that had been utilizing visuals from her recollections to speak to her that the outpost’s mining of deuterium was killing them. Uhura and James Kirk efficiently satisfied Ansoun Mount’s Christopher Pike to destroy the outpost after it couldn’t be shut down. That did the trick, as evidenced by Uhura seeing one final imaginative and prescient of Hemmer, however now wanting regular and smiling at her.
Throughout my dialog with Celia Rose Gooding, I additionally identified that as a result of Hemmer died in Unusual New Worlds Season 1’s second-to-last episode, there wasn’t actually any time to discover Nyota Uhura coping together with his loss of life. As such, I used to be curious if it was necessary for the actor that this collection ultimately present the character coming to a spot of acceptance with Hemmer not being round anymore, which “Misplaced in Translation” delivered. Right here’s what Gooding needed to say:
Yeah, it was actually necessary to me to have audiences see that second for Uhura simply because I really feel prefer it’s… not a theme in Trek, however it’s a sample that typically after we lose extremely necessary characters, it solely takes a pair episodes and everyone’s okay once more. I don’t suppose that’s a completely sincere reflection of what grief and mounting appears to be like like in an individual. So it was actually necessary for me to indicate the total arc of that for this character, particularly as a result of she’s so iconic and beloved for therefore many issues. It was necessary for me to showcase all of her human expertise. I feel even on the finish of 2×06, it isn’t a closing resting place of peace with it, however it’s a second of peace, and I feel that that’s extra sincere. She’s not gonna be 100% okay, all the time, on a regular basis. There are gonna be arduous days and there are gonna be simple days, and there are gonna be days the place she doesn’t give it some thought and there’ll be days the place that’s the one factor she will take into consideration. And I feel as she continues to develop all through the collection, we’ll see extra moments of her, however I feel to finish at a spot of contentment and safety was very, essential for me to indicate, and I’m glad she received to have it.
Together with these Hemmer visions, Uhura additionally re-experienced the trauma of shedding her dad and mom and brother at a younger age, which was her first brush with loss of life. As a Starfleet officer, these brushes have solely elevated, and as Gooding detailed, she’s by no means going to fully get used to loss of life whereas on the job. However so far as Hemmer specifically is anxious, she appears to be in a greater place mentally and emotionally with him now not being round following her expertise with these aliens. And hey, simply because Hemmer on this incarnation is now not round doesn’t imply that Bruce Horak couldn’t by some means reprise the function once more on Unusual New Worlds once more, whether or not or not it’s via different bizarre visions, flashbacks, an alternate universe counterpart, and many others. Ought to that occur, clearly we’ll let about it.
New episodes of Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds drop Thursdays to Paramount+ subscribers. The collection has already been renewed for Season 3, and there are many different upcoming Star Trek exhibits on the way in which. Our 2023 TV schedule can also be obtainable to scan via in the event you’re searching for one thing else to observe.
